Holidays - when things go astray...

Well this week I have been to Italy, Lake Como to be precise. It is a beautiful place with amazing food. I was fortunate enough to attend a Network Spinal Analysis weekend where all the stress in your system is downloaded. I have to say the people there were wonderful and all had such a positive outlook on life. When I say positive, not the wafty sort, more of a kind of concentrated focus, the kind that gets things done.

Now after spending the weekend indulging in the luxury of having a nervous system cleanse my friends and I were tested. It was quite strange because you realise how many potential stresses there are in life and how any of them can trigger a response. While we were having lunch in Como, just before going to the airport, we all received one of those dreaded texts: your flight has been cancelled due to weather conditions. The first response was to book another one. It was not so easy because the next one listed was three days later and that was filling up. What would happened if the next one was a week later?

It is in these moments that you really see how your mind works and how you are so fixated in how life 'has' to be. In some of my business life I work with contingency, resilience and disaster recovery. Ironically at the end of the week I was to be involved in a 'shut down' simulation. Well the flight being cancelled was completely going to destroy any opportunity to take part. The thing was that in normal life I would have been aggravated. All my attachment to being at work, the money involved and the fact that I was out of control would have welled up. Instead I thought, well there isn't a lot I can do. Instead let's enjoy Italy. If I have to stay longer then I have to enjoy it. It was then that I realised that I had to text my manager. His response was - 'oh how terrible to be stuck in Italy. If you can't get back then you can't get back.' It was then that I realised how much we all believe that we have to be here, there or everywhere because you have to be. Sometimes you can just relax into the flow of life and say 'it is out of my control - I have a choice - get angry or enjoy it'. :) The truth is life goes on without you... Life is ever changing so it is better to adapt and enjoy being where you are...

Be Dynamic at Problem Solving

Be A Little Dynamic in Your Problem Solving...

 

 

There are challenges and there are problems, both require a flexibility of thought to solve them. If we continue to think the same way then we end up with the same results and nothing progresses.  Last week I had the opportunity to take part in a Dynamic Problem Solving Course. A room filled with corporate employees were poised to find new ways to solve problems. If the old ways have not worked then surely the new ways would be welcome. So there we are all expecting the solution to solutionising  and the first thing we are asked to consider is how we bake a cake. Bake a cake? What is the process we use? Some would get a recipe from the internet or cookbook and follow instructions. Others were a little more spontaneous and glanced at what was in the cupboards and combined ingredients they had available. What was revealed was how most people got on with the process rather than define the type of cake. Who was the cake’s audience? Was the desired outcome a wedding cake, a Christmas cake or a birthday cake? Essentially this little exercise provided an insight into how we approach the ‘problem of baking a cake’.  Yet we had not defined the type of cake or who for. Such a simple exercise can reveal how we approach problem solving.

 

 

When you bring a group together the first step is to define the actual problem. We can’t assume that we all have the same perception of the problem. Once the problem has been defined then we need to work out the intended outcome and who the audience is, if there is an audience. It is then things become creative – yes creative. Before you say ‘I am not creative,’ this is where you are wrong. Simply by placing ingredients in a sandwich is an act of creation – you created a sandwich. The fact that you select a set of clothes to wear in the morning is also an act of creation. So you may well have dormant creativity desperately desiring to explode into the problem solving arena.  With this in mind, there are two types of thinking – traditional thinking, solving problems through reasoning that is already known and Lateral thinking, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and generating ideas that may not have been considered using traditional step logic. One of the main barriers to being creative is fear – how do you overcome it? Look at the barriers and ask what it is you fear about being creative.

 

Once you are ready for your creative problem solving escapades there are numerous techniques you can use:

 

·         ‘What if-ing’ – asking what if…. Numerous times and considering the repercussions

·         Write down numerous ideas of how to solve the problem and resolve the issue not using the obvious answer.

·         Thinking counter intuitively – this is going against the obvious to find the solution.

·         Make a mind map of all potentials.

·         Use the SCAMPER model –S=Substitute, C=Combine, A=Adapt, M=Magnify, P=Put to          Other Use, E=Eliminate or Minimize and R=Rearrange. 

·         The 5 Why’s technique

·         Pareto Analysis (80/20 rule)

·         Cause and effect diagram / Fishbone diagram

·         Cost Benefit analysis

·         Grid analysis

·         Force field analysis

·         SWOT analysis – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

 

 

The details of the above can be looked up on Google.

Once you have the concepts if is time to think critically and assess the potential solutions. This too has a potential process:

 

·         Stop and think – be insightful

·         Recognise your Assumption – be inquisitive, truth –seeking and open minded.

·         Evaluate the information – systemically and analytically

·         Draw conclusions – systematic, analytical and insightful

·         Create a plan of action – this will be timely and analytical

 

Once you have a plan then does someone need to make a decision?

The Classic Decision Making Process includes:

·         Define Objectives

·         Collect Relevant Information

·         Generate Feasible Options

·         Make THE decision

·         Implement and Evaluate

 

 

 

Another Technique is called The RAPID Decision Making Model:

 

·         Recommendation

·         Agreement

·         Perform

·         Input

·         Decision

With all the above in mind, there is so much more that one can learn on the Dynamic Problem Solving course and I can highly recommend it. You might find your process for baking a cake may well completely change!

 

 

 

Ruby Allure Books created to inspire you:)

 

LINKS TO AMAZON.COM:

 

New in Paperback:  http://amzn.com/151230526X

 

 

 

 

LABYRINTHINE AMAZON.COM LINK: Link: http://amzn.com/B012FAYI5U

 

 

:

AUDIBLE LINK FOR A SHORT COURSE IN CREATIVE WRITING: http://amzn.com/B01390THLK

 

21/08/15

 

"An Unexpected Gem"

***I was provided a copy of this audio book for the purpose of a review ***

With the required disclaimer out of the way, let me be brutally honest, I had not expected this little gem. In fact, I had expected my listening would be a bit rough and was fortified by it being less than 2 hours.

The synopsis says the author wrote the book as a takeaway from her evening classes on creative writing. My mental context was ... Community Ed evening classes ...and expected a well intended but kind of amateur product. However, I am interested in adult education, and batter my own nerd head against a giant personal creativity brick wall.

So you have an idea of my mind set... low expectations along with high interest.

Amateur hour it was NOT.

I don't know where the author teaches her class, but Sign Me Up! And bring the narrator. Wow. Two hours of unadulterated, straight up, right on, good learning material delivered by a close friend just sharing the material. The narrator's voice was warm, sincere without any artifact or pompous patronising, and well modulated throughout. The material was mind opening for me, with the right mix of the mechanics of writing exercises, sufficient context that using prompts now makes sense to me, and a sprinkling of the inner heart work of creativity through written material.

This was just what I didn't dare hope for in a how to creative writing listen.

Truly an unexpected gem and a learning and growing experience for me.

A keeper and one I will return to many times as I deconstruct my own wall, one block at a time.

Thank You, Ruby and Thank You, Erin.

 

TO BUY MONEY FARM ON AMAZON.com http://amzn.com/B010F04W9O

· Frode

06/08/15

5 STAR

"M.O.N.E.Y. is bad? This book is not!"

So Money Farm by Ruby Allure was a surprise! When I REALLY did not read things about this book I review for Audiobook Blast, I sometimes get books I don't know something about. BTW: I read 99% about the books I want to review, but this book I can't remember I did that for. Anyways: This was a nice surprise, and I think it is one of those books that is better the second time you read it. No joke! I listen to this twice before I made this! Money Farm makes you thin, and who does not like to hear a book that makes you think? It is an awesome book, that I will recommend to all that likes audiobooks, and really to people that does not!

Helen Lloyd English accent its the topic like a glow and a hand! Her "lady like" voice is so cold, and clear I feel that the author made this book thinking that Helen Lloyd would read it out loud! That is how I feel those two fits together! The 2 times 14 hrs and 6 mins I spend with her never feels boring or uninteresting! I would love to spend it again, and I will because this book I will hear again, and again, even when it is 14 hrs and 6 mins long! That is saying something!

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

Link: http://amzn.com/151230526X

MONEY FARM

· "Incredibly thought provoking..."

What did you like most about Money Farm?

It was an eye opener.

 

What did you like best about this story?

I like the way it made you think about the way normal everyday life is here and now, and the future...

 

Have you listened to any of Helen Lloyd’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Helen Lloyd narrated this fairly long audiobook brilliantly. Although the story content was very intense and thought provoking, her lovely smooth voice was very easy to listen to and I thought it was just perfect, a fascinating book wonderfully narrated.

 

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes it was, although it is too long to do so.

 

Writing and self-promotion.

Self -promotion in writing is one of the biggest challenges for many authors.
Why?
Well it is a case of having to blow your own literary trumpet to a bunch of strangers - commonly known as the audience. Of course there are fans, but the original issue is how do you get the audience to engage, become fans and then buy?

Well for those Indie writers amongst us, Amazon KDP offers self-promotion tools. You can place your books on offer for a limited period or offer a time-limited free download. When I first started out I completely disagreed with the concept of free - especially when I spent years writing books. Why would I do all that writing and give away my book for free? Isn't that just a bunch of 'cheapos' wanting something for free? Well yes it is - however, that free book might be the trigger to turn that 'Cheapo' into a fan. That new 'fan' may well tell other people about your books. Or they may well go back and buy all your books. Or they do nothing. If they do nothing you have not lost anything. The point is that you are making people aware of your existence.

If you have read any of my other posts, you will know that I teach creative writing to evening classes. In these classes the biggest resistance arrives at the end of the course when we talk about editing and then promotion. Most writers want people to do the promotion for them. Yes that is great; however, why pay people to do what you can do for free. If you are a writer then you can write great pieces of promotion material. Isn't that the challenge? Finding ways to engage the audience and get your book / books out there. What most people don't know is that everyone has to deal with the feelings of 'not good enough'. Everyone also has to feel fear. That fear will always be there even when you do what you fear. Common mental churns turn up - what happens if the work does not sell? What happens if it does sell? What happens if I am catapulted into absolute stardom? This type of thinking does not serve a purpose - it is illusions. Nothing ever turns out the way you think it will anyway. Whatever happens you will deal with it. You CAN deal with it. It will provide lessons. Also fear is a good thing. It will never go away but it reveals that you are in touch with your comfort zone. So find where that zone finishes and leap into the unknown - release your book and then hype it. Why not? What is the worse that can happen? You won't sell any or you will sell loads. Who cares? This is all part of the fun of the experience. So suck it up princesses and self-promote. If you don't then who will know you exist? GO FOR IT!!!! YEY!!! 

In order to demonstrate what I am saying and show you how it works: this one is on promotion until Feb 4th and it is Free - yes Free!!!

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00928727A